Read More

Public awareness of the impact of plastic waste has been growing in recent years, helped in part by its portrayal in environmental programmes such as Blue Planet II.

Rising demand for single-use items has seen the world’s oceans build-up billions of tons of plastic.

It led Prime Minister Theresa May to condemn the UK’s ‘throwaway culture’ by demanding a 5p levy on plastic bags is extended from supermarkets and other major stores to all shops.

She is also being urged to back demands from a committee of MPs for a 25p ‘latte levy’ on throwaway plastic coffee cups, which can take up to 450 years to degrade.

And councils across Wales are due to meet later this month to discuss a looming crisis stemming from China’s decision to stop importing plastic waste, prompting fears it will make it more difficult for local authorities to meet recycling targets.

A Swansea Council spokesman said: “Like all beaches and coastlines around the country, we suffer from litter which has been washed on to the shore.

“We carry out regular litter picks at all our beaches and in busy periods during the summer we will increase these patrols.

“We know that there are many people who help us to collect litter on our beaches and we are grateful to everyone that gets involved.”